ASICS - GEL-NIMBUS 26 TR

ASICS Gel Nimbus TR. I live like 3km from a trail and these are the only ‘hybrid’ shoe I’ve found that actually feel good on roads.

ASICS Gel Nimbus TR really nice for for light trails.

I have tried ASICS Gel Nimbus TR and Hoka Challenger. ASICS is way more comfy esp on the road, but has slightly worse grip on the trails. Challenger looks much better imo, so I like using it as a travel do-it-all shoe, but for road to trail runs I’d pick the ASICS every time.

Suggestion: buy 2 shoes, get older models on sale to mitigate the cost. I put 600 miles on Novablast 4s (1st pair short, on 3rd pair) and have 138 on Trabuco Max 4s. Lugs on pavement are harsh and slow, and the shoes really are meant to do different things. Taking the Trabuco Max's on a road run is something I would not voluntarily do. They are not so great off-road either, the softness of the stack and shape makes descending hard on the ankles. I take the Novablasts on dirt sometimes (gravel, sand in golden gate park or candlestick) and they work (fine in wet, that seems to be an internet myth) you just have to slow down. But on real trails you will mess up your ankles and/or crash, same with the TR thick-soled versions of other Asics shoes (tried TR novablast 3s and nimbuses). Besides being slow and harsh, the downside of lugs on pavement is premature wear - the roads grind the lugs down and the cost-savings of using one shoe disappear. I have a local loop that I do weekly that takes 3-4 miles of roads to get to a mix of gravel, dirt, roots and rocks (10-17 miles total), and there doesn't seem to be a good shoe compromise. The Saucony Endorphin Rift model (400+ miles on 2 pairs) was pretty good on the roads after 100-150 miles with worn lugs, but the lockdown for technical trails wasn't great.

I have these but pretty weak on any serious trail. Great for grade 1/2 type trails and on the road when it’s wet.

Yeah I mean they’re not designed for serious trails, but have a nice bit of extra traction and feel just as comfy as a road shoe on the pavement.